The present invention relates to a portable water treatment assembly and method of treating water and, more particularly, to such assembly and method in which the water is simply and inexpensively treated with a bactericide at the point of use.
Many remote, difficultly accessible regions of the world have the need for simple, inexpensive, portable and easily useable equipment and/or methods for treating the water which is locally available at the location of ultimate use. In many instances, the water available at such locations has been bacterially contaminated and, to assure safe usage particularly as potable water, treatment with a bactericide is generally appropriate. However, effective water treatment systems which are typically operated by or under a regional governmental authority are usually not available.
In these situations, individual batches of water have been treated at the site of ultimate use using bactericidal agents which might be generally available to the user. These agents are usually inexpensive agents, such as household bleach. Although such locally available bactericidal agents have the advantage of availability and cost, the taste which they impart to the treated water which is to be ultimately consumed as potable water is usually objectionable. This is particularly the case when large amounts of such bactericidal agents, such as bleach, are needed to ensure complete kill of large quantities of bacteria which may be present in the available untreated raw water. Accordingly, it would be desirable to not only provide for the sterilization and treatment of available raw water from a standpoint of health, but to also reduce or remove to the extent possible any ingredients in the water, such as household bleach, following the treatment and which might otherwise impart undesirable tastes and odors to the treated water after it has been made ready for consumption. It is also desirable to be able to treat all of the water which is to be treated in a single assembly rather than using several individual disparate equipment components to carry out the entire treatment procedure.
One of the principal purposes of the present invention is to provide an assembly and method for the treatment of water which is portable, simple and inexpensive, but yet is capable of consistently and reliably purifying and treating water to make it safely drinkable. Another principal purpose of the present invention is to be able to not only remove undesirable ingredients from the treated water which may impart undesirable flavors and odors, such as halogenating bactericidal compounds like household bleach, but to also remove sediments and other contaminants which may be present in the water to be treated. It is also a purpose of the present invention to provide a portable, simple water treatment assembly having a minimum of components for its full functionality, and which may be easily transported, set up and operated in remote regions where reliable water treatment has not heretofore been available or possible.
In one principal aspect of the present invention, a water treatment assembly comprises first and second containers for containing the water which is being treated with each container having a bottom wall, a side wall and an openable top. A conduit communicates water from the first container through its bottom wall to the second container through its top, and a valve is operable between a first position in which the flow of water through the conduit from the first container to the second container is blocked, and to a second position in which the water in the first container is permitted to flow from the first container to the second container.
In another principal aspect of the present invention, the valve comprises an elongate rod having a bottom adjacent the bottom wall of the first container and a top adjacent the top of the first container, and the rod is movable to a position in which its bottom is either in the first or the second position.
In still another principal aspect of the present invention, the valve or rod is operable at a location adjacent the top of the first container.
In still another principal aspect of the present invention, removable walls cover the openable top of each of the containers.
In still another principal aspect of the present invention, the conduit is coupled to the bottom wall of the first container and the top wall of the second container and communicates the water from the first container to the second container.
In still another principal aspect of the present invention, the first container is vertically stacked and supported upon the second container.
In still another principal aspect of the present invention, the containers are buckets.
In still another principal aspect of the present invention, a separator is located in the first container for separating sediment from the water before the water flows through the conduit from the first container, and the conduit is coupled to the separator.
In still another principal aspect of the present invention, the separator is a string wound cartridge.
In still another principal aspect of the present invention, a water treatment element is located in the second container for treating the water as it flows through the conduit into the second container, and the conduit is coupled to the water treatment element.
In still another principal aspect of the present invention, the water treatment element is a charcoal filter.
In still another principal aspect of the present invention, the assembly is portable.
In still another principal aspect of the present invention, a method of treating water comprises placing the water to be treated in a first container together with an effective amount of a bactericide to kill bacteria which may be in the water which is to be purified, and holding the water and bactericide in the first container for a time sufficient to permit the bactericide to kill the bacteria. The treated water in the first container is drained to a second container beneath the first container by opening a valve between the containers, the water from the first container is passed through a medium for removing the bactericide as the water is draining from the first container, and the water from which the bactericide has been removed is collected in the second container.
In still another principal aspect of the method of the present invention, the valve is opened from a location adjacent the top of the first container.
In still another principal aspect of the method of the present invention, the water is also passed through a medium for removing sediment as the water is draining from the first container.
In still another principal aspect of the method of the present invention, the water passes first through the medium for removing sediment and then through the medium for removing the bactericide.
In still another principal aspect of the method of the present invention, the medium for removing sediment is positioned in the first container, and the medium for removing the bactericide is positioned in the second container.
In still another principal aspect of the method of the present invention, the medium for removing the bactericide is charcoal.
In still another principal aspect of the method of the present invention, the bactericide is household bleach. These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood through a consideration of the following detailed description.